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This time the silence was long, but when he spoke again, he shocked me. By not being shocked. “I noticed.”
“What?” I looked around unconsciously, worrying that he had me under surveillance after all.
“When I went to hire your auction house for the disposal of my uncle’s collection, I saw the two of you walking away. I was so shocked at the time that I did not say anything. I haven’t quite known what to say since.”
“Me either.” I let out a nervous laugh, not sure whether to be ashamed or relieved that he already knew. “Not for a long time. It’s part of why I never tracked you down.”
“That and my…occupation?” Again, gentle teasing in his voice. My cheeks felt like they would burst into flames.
“Look, I’m not even judging. And I don’t talk to anyone about what little I know about you. I just didn’t know how much danger being close to you would put me in. Me or my son. But you still have a right to know.”
“It is good that you understand that.” I heard a soft huff and wondered if he was smoking. “I would like to meet him. But right now it is too chaotic. You may not believe this, but I have no desire to bring additional danger into your life or his.”
I caught my breath for the first time in what felt like weeks. He wasn’t angry. He was being reasonable. He was concerned about our safety. It was nothing like what I had braced myself for. But then again, I had no experience with fathers. “So…what now?”
“Do you need assistance with him?”
Another surprise. “Do you mean, like, child support? No, I make enough to cover us. But there is his future to think about.”
“Private school. College. Medical expenses and the like.”
How could he be so cool about this when I was jumping around inside my own skin? “I hadn’t gotten quite that far, but, yes. But…” I stopped, suddenly unable to continue. My mouth was dry. I got up and got myself a glass of water.
“There’s something else?” he pried gently.
Just spit it out.I sat back down heavily, taking a swallow before speaking again. “Yes. What should I tell him about you?”
“Tell him…” He trailed off thoughtfully. “Tell him that I have been on a long journey overseas. I do not think he should know right away who I am…in case these chaotic times force some kind of separation.”
I felt a chill go down my back. This mess involving the deaths, and Luis’s school friend. What was going on that he thought there was a risk he might have to leave? “That’s important. I don’t want to upset him.”Or have him gain a father and suddenly lose him all over again.
No. That could not be allowed.
“Then we are in agreement. Good.” I heard the rattle of something, and the scratch of a pen. “I will contact you about scheduling the estate sale when your office is next open. Once that is properly out of the way, I want to spend more time with you.”
This time the shiver that went down my back didn’t leave me feeling cold at all. “I’d like that,” I said softly, before I could stop myself.
That throaty, self-satisfied little chuckle of his made me squirm. “Good. I look forward to it.”
He ended the call, and I downed the rest of my water in a few gulps, my hand shaking slightly. Did that conversation just happen?
Yes, it had. I had gotten through it, stilted and uncomfortable as the conversation had been. I had managed to tell him, finally, that Michael was his son, and he had taken it well. It looked like we might be able to handle this amicably.
But in the process, I had learned something I hadn’t been ready for. Luis’s killer childhood friend was an enemy of the Bratva.
Chapter 13
Viktor
“Ihate to be the bearer of bad news, sir,” said the senior police detective, as he sat across my desk from me. “But they’re going ahead with the investigation.”
I sighed and leaned back in my padded chair, staring at him. He was a small man for a cop, with flat, shiny blond hair clinging to his skull and a round head that sat directly on his shoulders. He also looked nervous, which told me he was relatively new to his rank.
I had cops in my office at least twice a week now. It didn’t bother me, just part of doing business in Boston. I remembered seeing them in my uncle’s office during my early twenties and being astonished. Now it was just another chore to get through.
“I see. Well, that’s not really a surprise. Though I do appreciate that you brought the news to me in person.” It showed respect.
With the press attention and two dead men, missing security tapes—which I had arranged to be conveniently lost, and a mystery killer—or mystery to them at least, I knew exactly where to find Boris—at large, it was inevitable that Cambridge PD would start nosing around.
